Greetings- For those interested in biographical information about Theophilus Whaley, it appears that one of the visitors from Boston who called on the Willet home and apparently made a point of speaking with Theophilus was Samuel Sewall, a member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's Governing Council under Lt. Gov William Stoughton, and a leading Puritan of the day. This is shown below through comparison of information in Samuel Sewall's diaries with information in Ezra Stiles' book, A History of the Three Judges. This comparison confirms the childhood memory of Francis Willet as related by Stiles, that the leading members of the Massachusetts Puritan government knew of and were interested in Theophilus. Samuel Sewall was one of the judges at the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 (Stoughton was the prosecutor). Sewall's diaries reveal that Sewall moved in pretty high circles in Massachusetts Puritan society, as would be expected of a member of the Governor's Council. One of his peers was Cotton Mather, for example. Interestingly, Sewall's diaries indicate he also socialized with several Walleys in the Boston area. Other than the Stiles reference to Theophilus being a First Day Baptist, this is the first connection to the New England Puritan community I have encountered for Theophilus. As none of the Theophilus Whaley websites out there mention this, and my collection of printed material is small, I'm not sure if this connection has been explored elsewhere or not, so I would appreciate any insight anyone has to offer. Thanks. -Bob Hart Vienna, VA Theophilus -> Samuel -> Theophilus (unproven -> ) Isaac (unproven ->) David -> Cyrenus -> Lucy -> ... non Whaleys ... -> Bob Hart From Ezra Stiles, A History of the Three Judges, pp. 342-343 ============================================ (NOTE: These anecdotes were told to the author, Ezra Stiles, by Francis Willet, upon whose father's land Theophilus resided in Narragansett. Historical sources show that Francis, born in 1693, was the son of Captain Andrew Willet, and the grandson of Captain Thomas Willet. Captain Thomas Willet was the man who took over leadership of the Plymouth Colony's militia from Miles Standish, and subsequently became the first governor of New York City. His son, Captain Andrew Willet, settled in Narragansett. Thus it seems Theophilus was residing with a family in pretty high standing.) "When he was a boy, he [Francis Willet] said, several Boston gentlemen used once a year to make an excursion and visit at his father's house. As soon as they came they always enquired eagerly after the welfare of the good old man: and his father used to send him, when a boy, to call him to come and spend the evening at his house, As soon as Mr. Whale came in the gentlemen embraced him with great ardour and affection, and expressed great joy at seeing him, and treated him with great friendship and respect. They spent the evening together with the most endearing familiarity, so that the Colonel said, he never saw any gentlemen treat one another with such apparently heart-felt cordiality and respect. He used to wonder at it, and could not account for it. They kept shut up in a room by themselves, and there seemed to be an air of secrecy about the matter. Their interviews were in the evening only, and continued late in the night. Just before they broke up, he used to observe that one of the gentlemen would take Mr. Whale by the hand, and they walked out into the lot, and returning, another took him out, and so all the others singly and by themselves. He did not know for what reason this was done. But when the gentlemen were all gone, Whale always had plenty of money. And the Colonel [Francis Willet] told me that he did not doubt but that they all gave him money in this private and secret matter. He frequently mentioned the names of the gentlemen, and they were some of the first characters in Boston about the beginning of this century [book published 1794]. The Secretary was one, and Judge Sewall another." From the Diaries of Samuel Sewall, 15 September 1699 ======================================== These diaries can be found at the bottom of this page: http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted_hildebrandt/NEReligiousHistory/NERel igiousHistory.cfm "Septr 15. Mr. Newton and I ride to Newport, see aged Joan Savage, (now Earl), by the way. Her husband, Ralph Earl, was born 1606. and his wife was 10. or 11years older than he. So she is esteemed to be one hun-dred and five years old. I pass over the ferry to Narra-ganset; by the time landed, twas almost quite dark. Got to Capt. Willet's, and lodg'd there. Satterday 7r 16 -- went to Tho Hazard's, and with him to Niles's Mill, from thence to Point Judith. Find his son gon to Block-Island. So I went back, to go to Newport, lodg'd at Joseph Morey's on Canonicut.". Observations: 1. Francis would have been 6 years old in 1699, so this diary entry checks out with Francis remembering being a boy when Judge Sewall visited. 2. Samuel Sewall, a member of the Governor's Council of Massachusetts at this time, definitely counted as a "first character" in Boston, so this is consistent with Willet's recollections as related by Stiles 3. Stiles described the Willet farm as "a tract extending from Narraganset ferry northward perhaps one mile and an half in length, on the Bay, and about one mile or more east and west from the Bay, across to the oblong pond called Petequamscot....At the north end of this pond and on the Willet farm, was settled Theophilus Whaley or Theophilus Whale...." You can look at Narragansett, RI on mapquest (zoom in twice) and see quite clearly that Samuel Sewall's diary of his travels on Sept. 15 match perfectly with the description of the location of Willet's farm quoted from Stiles. 4. Numerous sources indicate Andrew Willet, Francis Willet's father, held the rank of Captain, which checks with the Sewall diary entry. Thus it seems we can confirm Francis Willet's childhood memory, and positively identify the Judge Sewall who was one of the men who visited Willet's farm and who, with other "first characters" of Boston, conversed with Theophilus about serious matters, and who perhaps gave him money. (Stiles noted that these annual visits were connected with the estates and business interests of the Boston men.) Question: Who was "the Secretary" mentioned by Francis Willet who visited along with Judge Sewall? Since Sewall's diaries are filled with references to "Mr. Secretary", and Sewall was a member of Massachusetts Bay Colony's Governing Council, it would seem that "the Secretary" would have to have been Isaac Addington, Secretary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1692 - 1714. There does not seem to be much posted about him. The next question is, since Samuel Sewall was part of the Puritan leadership of Massachussets, and it seems fairly clear this leadership in years previous was at least complicit in helping to hide Edward Whaley and John Goffe (and some sources say actually played an active role in helping these fellow Puritans) did Samuel Sewall have any connections to the Reverend John Russell, who hid Edward Whaley and John Goffe in the cellar of his house in Hadley? The answer to the question is yes, at least in passing acquaintance, based on the diary entry below. From the Diaries of Samuel Sewall, 25 June 1685 (Rev. Russel gave a sermon in Boston that Samuel Sewall attended) ======================================================================== ============== "Mr. Russel of Hadley preacheth the Lecture from Zech. 7.5. Did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?" Evidently Sewall did not feel the need to further identify "Mr. Russel" except to say he was from Hadley. Interestingly, the Russell family seems to have been strongly connected with the First Baptist Church (Theophilus was a First Day Baptist, according to Stiles' interview of Samuel Hopkins, grandson of Theophilus). See paragraph starting with John, Charlestown 1640 at http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/savage/bk3/russell-ryland.h tm The last question that strikes me is: Why didn't Samuel Sewall mention Theophilus in his diaries? Given Francis Willet's description of their meeting(s) as related in Stiles, one would think conversing with Theophilus would have been worthy of at least a brief note such as "Saw Theophilus Whaley". Perhaps Samuel Sewall thought it indiscreet to write anything about Theophilus in a diary, given the rumors swirling about that he was one of the Regicides.